Emotional connection

The way his eyes gleamed teasingly and his dimples showed minimized the apprehension I felt. "Tell me, I'm curious." He raked his hand through his hair as he leaned in his chair. I could not help but imagine my hands going through his hair, what would it felt like? Then, I shrugged the thought off.

This was not the time to be daydreaming about him. In fact, I should not be thinking about him in that way. Actually, I should not be thinking of him at all. Oh! I was becoming more confused and frustrated.

Deliberating on what I was about to say next. "Nothing much. Only a couple of articles I read on the net." I admitted. I supposed there was nothing wrong if I looked him up in the net. Everybody now did it anyway.

Now, I piqued his interest when he crossed his arms in his chest, making his muscles bulged. I had to stop ogling him, or he would think that I was very interested, which I was not. The fact that I admitted that I looked him up, meant that I was interested in him. I wanted to slap myself for such a stupid mistake.

"But, I would rather hear it from you. Not everything you read in the news is correct, some might be exaggerated facts." I quickly added when he just kept on waiting. I hoped he bought my excuse, I was not sure that I was comfortable sharing some of the things I had read.

"That's quite true... Fair enough." He agreed. He managed to share some personal facts about him. About his parent's divorce when he was young. He said that his father's death left him no choice, but to take over the business at an early age. I also learned about his half-brother who died in an accident and her stepsister, who was still in her senior year.

"Oh sorry for your loss." Remembering losing my father and brother too. Unlike him, I could not control my emotions the way he did. He told his story as if their deaths did not affect him that much, or maybe he was just better at hiding his feelings. While me, my emotions would be all over my face for everyone to see.

"It happened, and we have to move on." I wondered how he could do that. As if, he had a switch where he could easily flip whatever he was feeling. How I wished I could do the same.

"I guess so," Easy said than done. Perhaps, it had something to do with his upbringing. I could only speculate, but he must have to mature faster than the rest of us because of the amount of responsibility given to him at an early age.

"How was your steak?" He asked before taking a bite on his own. I was almost finished with mine, yet I could not get enough of the juiciness of it.

"The steak is perfect." I took another bite and could not help but feel satisfied. I loved to eat. I had a fast metabolism, so gaining extra weight was never a problem. I also believed that food should always be appreciated and not wasted.

"I'm glad you like it." Clearly, he was amused by the way I attacked my food. My uneasiness before was completely gone. I was actually enjoying dining with him.

He talked about some of his interests, which I found interesting. My assumption that he was once an athlete was in fact true. He used to play football back in college. A quarterback. I did not know much about the sport, but I would assume that he was one of the top players.

Baseball was our sport back home. I grew up with a bat and a ball constantly surrounding me. Ask me anything about it. I would explain it in detail. That was how much I love the game. We ended up arguing which game was better. Of course, nobody would let the other win. We found ourselves in a truce.

The dessert, chocolate cake with ganache glaze, was divine. My first bite almost gave me goosebumps. I just loved chocolates. Call it exaggerated, but every piece of it feels like heaven.

"I like the way you eat." He leaned forward, extended his fingers to my face, and took a small chocolate cream at the side of my mouth. The small contact almost made me quiver in delight. "Quite different from..."He was saying when we heard his phone buzzed. "Excused me for a while."

He was probably about to say her other dates, specifically sophisticated women, beautiful models, like the one she saw on the net and the women like Ms. Carter who usually watched carefully what they ate.

He spoke on the phone while I silently finished my dessert, trying not to eavesdrop on his conversation. It would have not mattered since I had no idea of half of what he was talking about anyway.

While I was waiting for him, I surmised that this date turned out to be enjoyable. I was able to loosen up with his light banters. The awkwardness I was dreading did not last long. He made sure to accommodate our differences so that I would feel at ease with his company. He was exceptionally charming, which I thought would be bad for my sensibility.

This man was quite different from the imposing and arrogant businessman who frequented the diner. He was more of the man I met at the bar, cool and quite a charmer. No wonder he was the most sought-after bachelor today based on the rumors. He was indeed a total package. Most woman would really had a hard time saying no to him, but hopefully not me.

What had I gotten myself into, I asked myself. Now, he was not just a stranger who I had branded as someone who I could not trust, into someone who I had gotten to know on a deeper level. The physical attraction I felt for him before only intensified, and it would seem that I also developed an emotional connection with him. This was not good.